Edutopia 6-tips-brain-based-learning-guide c
- 1. presents SIX TIPS for BRAIN-BASED LEARNING +++++ PLUS A BONUS CLASS PROJECT, RESOURCES, and a READING LIST
- 2. Six Tips for Brain-Based Learning Plus, a bonus class project, resources, and a reading list BY UNDERSTANDING HOW THE BRAIN WORKS, educators are better equipped to help students with everything from focusing attention TIPS AT to increasing retention. That’s the promise of brain-based learning, A GLANCE which draws insights from neurology, psychology, technology, and other fields. Bringing this information to the classroom can help teachers engage diverse learners, offer effective feedback that leads to deeper 1. Create a Safe understanding, and create a rich learning environment that attends to Climate for Learning students’ social and emotional needs along with their developing brains. Chances are, you already know more about brain-based learning than 2. Encourage a you think you do. When you introduce topics to your students, do you Growth Mind-set begin by activating prior knowledge? That helps learners build on what they already know, strengthening connections in the brain. Do you use tools like graphic organizers, songs, or rhymes? These strategies help students 3. Emphasize represent their thinking visually, kinesthetically, and phonetically. These Feedback techniques all deserve a place in your tool kit because they get the brain primed for learning. 4. Get Bodies and Patricia Kuhl, renown language and brain development researcher, puts Brains in Gear it this way, “We are embarking on a grand and golden age of knowledge about the child’s brain development. . . . In investigating the child’s brain, we are going to uncover deep truths about what it means to be human, 5. Start Early and in the process, we may be able to help keep our own minds open to learning for our entire lives.” 6. Embrace the In this guide, you’ll get practical tips across the K-12 spectrum, a reading Power of Novelty list, and a variety of resources to help you learn more about this fascinating field. To help you and your students learn more about their own brainpower, we’ve also included a bonus project that will get students thinking critically about thinking. As promising as brain-based discoveries may sound, some educators are BONUS understandably cautious about introducing lab findings in the classroom. PROJECT Anyone who remembers fallout over the so-called Mozart effect knows that there’s no magic solution when it comes to education. As always, if Build a Brain a particular claim sounds too good to be true, that’s a clue to trust your common sense and engage your own critical thinking. Owner’s Manual We’re eager to hear how you apply brain-based learning with your students. Please share your insights and help build the bridge from + Recommended neuroscience research to engaging classroom practice. Reading —Suzie Boss Edutopia blogger and co-author of Reinventing Project-Based Learning On Twitter @suzieboss visit edutopia.org
- 3. tip #1 Create a Safe Climate for Learning WHEN STUDENTS ARE FEELING ANXIOUS or fearful, they aren’t in the mood to learn. That’s because one part of the brain that processes emotions —the amygdala—responds to perceived threats by blocking information Learn more: flow to the learning centers of the brain. In layman’s terms, stress scrambles ➔ Watch a University of Minnesota the learning circuits. To understand more about how the brain responds video seminar on the impacts to stress, read the Edutopia article “To Enable Learning, Put (Emotional) of stress on learning: http:// www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn Safety First” (http://www.edutopia.org/neuroscience-brain-based- /workshops/videos/Stress learning-emotional-safety). andLearning/index.html. Although educators can’t overcome every stressor in a child’s life, they can ➔ Watch a lecture by Professor take practical steps to make the classroom environment more conducive Claude M. Steele on Identity to learning. Veteran teacher Linda Lantieri, author of Building Emotional and Stereotype Threat: Intelligence, recommends concrete strategies to help students stay calm and http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=q1fzIuuXlkk. learn to manage their sometimes tumultuous emotions. As she explains in an Edutopia interview, “The prefrontal cortex of the brain is the area for ➔ Watch the Edutopia video “An Introduction to Social and paying attention, calming, and focusing as well as the area for short- and Emotional Learning”: http://www. long-term memory. So you need to focus in order to connect with your edutopia.org/social-emotional- memory.” Read more of her interview at http://www.edutopia.org/linda- learning-introduction-video. lantieri-how-to-relaxation. ➔ Watch the previously recorded Morning meetings, developmental discipline, and student leadership webinar “Social and Emotional teams are among the strategies that can foster healthy social and emotional Learning: Making a Case in an NCLB World”: http://www. learning. Learn how a school district in Louisville, Kentucky, has implemented edutopia.org/webinar-february. strategies to build students’ emotional health in this Schools That Work ➔ Eric Jensen, author of Teaching segment: http://www.edutopia.org/stw-jefferson. with Poverty in Mind, shares Learning environments that keep students highly engaged, that foster teaching tips in the post “Why community and family connections, and that consider the needs of the Teach Differently to Those whole child are the focus of a recent podcast by The Whole Child from from Poverty?” http://www. jensenlearning.com/news/ ASCD. For more ideas, listen to “School Environments: Transforming why-teach-differently-to-those- Learning Spaces” (http://whatworks.wholechildeducation.org/podcast/ from-poverty/teaching-with- school-environments-transforming-learning-spaces/). poverty-in-mind#postcomment. 3 SIX TIPS FOR BRAIN-BASED LEARNING EDUTOPIA.ORG
- 4. tip #2 Encourage a Growth Mind-set ASK STUDENTS TO DESCRIBE their brain with a metaphor and they’re likely to suggest a computer, command center, or maybe a lightning-fast communications network. But they’d be better off thinking of the brain as a muscle that gets stronger with use. Researchers now understand that IQ Learn more: isn’t fixed at birth. Just as we get more physically fit from exercising, we can ➔ Watch Dr. Norman Doidge's talk build brainpower through the act of learning. on brain plasticity: http://youtu. Children who adopt what psychologist Carol Dweck calls a growth mind-set be/dJxASN-_WtU. understand that intelligence isn’t fixed but can be developed through effort. ➔ Listen to an interview on the In Mindset, Dweck explains why students who have a growth mind-set are growth mind-set with Carol more willing to tackle challenges, learn from failure, and see criticism as Dweck: http://www.npr. org/templates/story/story. useful feedback rather than a reason to give up. This is the kind of thinking php?storyId=7406521. And listen that keeps students motivated, even when learning is hard work. To learn to Dweck explain her research how Dweck’s research can improve the classroom environment, read Milton in a series of video segments: Chen’s Edutopia post “Smart Talking: Tell Students to Feed Their Brains” http://www.brainology.us/ webnav/videogallery.aspx. (http://www.edutopia.org/carol-dweck-intelligence-research). The good news is that even mind-set isn’t fixed. A growth mind-set ➔ Diane Dahl is an elementary can be learned and reinforced by messages that praise persistence and set teacher who regularly applies brain-based learning strategies. high expectations. For example, help students understand that challenging Visit her blog to hear how she assignments will stretch their “thinking muscles.” At the same time, incorporates “thinking about provide them with necessary support so they don’t get discouraged. thinking” into daily learning (Edutopia blogger Rebecca Alber offers suggestions in “Six Scaffolding activities, such as this les- son about having students Strategies to Use with Your Students”: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/ model neural pathways: http:// scaffolding-lessons-six-strategies-rebecca-alber.) www.fortheloveofteaching. Curious to learn more? In Mind, Brain, and Education Science, a comprehensive net/2010/10/metacognition- guide based on more than 4,500 studies, (continued on next page) lesson-was-huge-success.html. 4 SIX TIPS FOR BRAIN-BASED LEARNING EDUTOPIA.ORG
- 5. tip #2 Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa presents five key concepts on the topic. These concepts give us an accessible framework for talking about, and learning about, brain-based learning: Human brains are as unique as faces. brains are not equal because context and ability influence learning. All brain is changed by experience. The brain is highly plastic. The brain connects new information to old. The Read an excerpt from Tokuhama-Espinosa’s book in New Horizons for Learning, a new journal from Johns Hopkins University School of Education (http://education.jhu.edu/newhorizons/Journals/Winter 2011/Tokuhama1). Effective teaching strategies help students move toward higher-order thinking, or what neurologists call executive function. As neurologist turned teacher Judy Willis, MD explains, “When you provide students with opportunities to apply learning, especially through authentic, personally meaningful activities with formative assessments and corrective feedback throughout a unit, facts move from rote memory to become consolidated into related memory bank, instead of being pruned away from disuse.” Follow Willis’s Edutopia posts to learn why, as she says, “the neurons that fire together wire together” (http://www.edutopia.org/spi- ralnotebook/judy-willis). Of course, all this brain activity is happening in a unique way for each student. By addressing learners’ individual needs, educators can help students strengthen the connections that will lead to deeper understanding. Experts David A. Sousa and Carol Ann Tomlinson team up to explain the science behind differentiated instruction in Differentiation and the Brain: How Neuroscience Supports the Learner-Friendly Classroom. They suggest having faculty discussions about how teachers’ and administrators’ attitudes and behaviors (as well as school environments and procedures) can encourage—or discourage— a growth mind-set. Download their discussion Reproducibles: http:// go.solution-tree.com/instruction/Reproducibles_DAB.html. And for ideas about delivering differentiated instruction on a slim budget, see Edutopia’s Schools That Work installment about a high-achieving elementary school in Tucson, Arizona: http://www.edutopia.org/stw-differentiated- instruction-budget-overview. 5 SIX TIPS FOR BRAIN-BASED LEARNING EDUTOPIA.ORG
- 6. tip #3 Emphasize Feedback E D U C AT I O N A L R E S E A R C H E R S H AV E long stressed the value of feedback for keeping learning on track. Savvy classroom teachers use a range of formative assessment strategies to check in on understanding and address misconceptions early. Not surprisingly, feedback is a cornerstone of brain-based learning. In Mind, Brain, and Education Science, Tokuhama- Espinosa points out, “Great teachers know that moments of evaluation can and should always become moments of teaching.” That means students need to know more than whether their answers were right or wrong. Understanding where and how they went wrong helps students adjust their thinking so they can improve. Learn more: Positive feedback, meanwhile, builds learner confidence. Whether it’s corrective ➔ Read Edutopia blogger Heather or affirming, feedback needs to be delivered in a way that’s encouraging Wolpert-Gawron’s practical post rather than discouraging. “Tips for Grading and Giving And implementing an effective on-the-fly feedback process is what’s driving Students Feedback”: http:// www.edutopia.org/blog/ much of the excitement around using video games in classrooms. Neurologist grading-tips-student- turned middle school teacher Judy Willis, MD explains how the dopamine- feedback-heather-wolpert- reward system works, why feedback matters, and what educators can learn gawron. from the achievable challenges of games in her Edutopia post “A Neurologist ➔ To help you maximize feedback Makes the Case for the Video Game Model as a Learning Tool” (http:// opportunities during projects, www.edutopia.org/blog/video-games-learning-student-engagement- download a copy of the Edutopia judy-willis). Classroom Guide Top Ten Tips for Assessing Project-Based Longtime advocate of brain-based learning Eric Jensen says a wide range of Learning: http://www.eduto- activities—particularly peer editing—can deliver the personal and relevant pia.org/10-tips-assessment- feedback students’ brains need to thrive. In a recent blog post, he suggests, project-based-learning- “Use gallery walks, have students build a physical model, provide games with resource-guide. competition, implement using an author’s chair, small-group discussion, ➔ See a demonstration of peer use audio or video feedback, peer editing, student presentations, hypothesis feedback in the classroom in building and testing, have students use a checklist, engage them in brain- Edutopia’s video on how to teach math as a social activity: storming, compare and contrast work” (http://www.jensenlearning.com/ http://edutopia.org/math- news/getting-priorities-right/brain-based-teaching). social-activity-cooperative- A variety of Web 2.0 tools can be used to deliver timely, specific feedback that learning-video will help students make academic gains. Web2ThatWorks Wiki (http://web2 thatworks.com) is a collaborative space developed by instructional coach Stephanie Sandifer (@ssandifer on Twitter) where educators are sharing ideas about technologies that support effective instruction. 6 SIX TIPS FOR BRAIN-BASED LEARNING EDUTOPIA.ORG
- 7. tip #4 Get Bodies and Brains in Gear DEVELOPMENTAL MOLECULAR BIOLOGIST John Medina, author Learn more: of Brain Rules, describes himself as a “grumpy scientist” who demands a ➔ Read the American Physiological gold standard from research before he’ll pass it along. His No. 1 research- Society’s description of the based rule for brain owners to keep in mind? Exercise boosts brainpower. benefits of exercise on brain health: Cardio activity increases oxygen-rich blood flow to the brain and increases http://www.the-aps.org/press/ releases/11/22.htm. students’ ability to concentrate. Acknowledging that more study is needed to fully understand the relationship between exercise and learning, Medina ➔ John J. Ratey, MD, author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science argues for incorporating more physical activity into the school day—now. of Exercise and the Brain, shares For an action-packed example, see how students at Naperville Central High videos and articles about exercise School in Illinois combine fitness with academics. Ninth and tenth graders in a and learning on his blog: http:// learning readiness program take fitness-based PE before their most challenging johnratey.typepad.com/blog/. academic courses (http://www.learningreadinesspe.com). PE teachers ➔ Take multimedia tutorials or listen to an interview with John collaborate with academic colleagues to find more opportunities for “brain Medina at the website http:// breaks” that get students moving during class. Watch a PBS “Need to Know” www.brainrules.net. episode about the program (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/ ➔ Visit KaBOOM! for research on video/a-physical-education-in-naperville-ill/7134/). recess, play, and healthy child For a global look at how young learners are benefiting from physical activity, development. Go to http://www. check out the Learning Landscape Network (http://www.learning kaboom.org, then click on the landscapenetwork.com/). This open-source community, developed by tab “Take Action for Play” and scroll to “Why Play Matters.” the nonprofit design firm Project H Design, is collecting creative ideas for using low-cost play spaces built from discarded tires to develop core subject ➔ Watch a TED talk with Project H founder Emily Pilloton: http:// skills. Originally intended for math instruction, the Learning Landscape www.ted.com/talks/emily_ concept has expanded to include physically active learning games across pilloton_teaching_design_for_ the curriculum. change.html. 7 SIX TIPS FOR BRAIN-BASED LEARNING EDUTOPIA.ORG
- 8. tip #5 Start Early FORMAL SCHOOLING MAY NOT START until age five, but we all Learn more: know children are learning long before they begin kindergarten. By reaching ➔ Read about the impacts of out to parents of preschoolers with research and practical information, preschool education from a schools can help incoming students arrive at school ready—and eager—to learn. 25-year longitudinal study: At Education Nation 2011, an annual summit on education hosted by NBC http://www.sciencedaily .com/releases/2011/06/110609 News, researchers from the University of Washington shared never-seen- 141556.htm. before research about what happens in the brain and its 100 billion neurons during the first 2,000 days of life. Patricia Kuhl and Andrew Meltzoff explained ➔ Watch a video about the importance of early learning, the importance of a series of images showing how children’s brains change as featuring the Center on they listen to language, interact with other people, and develop connections. the Developing Child at Watch the video presentation at Education Nation (go to http://www. Harvard University: http://you- educationnation.com and search for Patricia Kuhl). tu.be/7Qb3DXY_7fU. Many states have launched early childhood campaigns to help children ➔ Read the New York Times opinion arrive at kindergarten ready to learn. Less than half the children in Washington, piece “Delay Kindergarten at for example, enter school kindergarten-ready, according to University of Your Child’s Peril” written by Sam Wang and Sandra Aamodt, Washington data, and only a quarter of the lowest-income students start authors of Welcome to Your school ready to learn. To improve these odds, Washington has launched a Child’s Brain: How the Mind grassroots campaign around the themes “Love. Talk. Play.” See suggestions Grows From Conception to for activities that parents can do with their young children at http://www. College: http://www.nytimes. lovetalkplay.org. com/2011/09/25/opinion/ sunday/dont-delay-your- What’s really happening when babies play? Psychology professor Alison kindergartners-start.html. Gopnik, author of The Philosophical Baby, answers that question with some surprising answers in her TED talk “What do babies think?”: http://www.ted. com/talks/alison_gopnik_what_do_babies_think.html. 8 SIX TIPS FOR BRAIN-BASED LEARNING EDUTOPIA.ORG
- 9. tip #6 Embrace the Power of Novelty WHEN WE ENCOUNTER NEW information, the brain quickly goes into pattern-recognition mode. If it reminds us of something we’ve encountered before, we know how to respond. But what happens when the new information doesn’t “fit” with existing understanding? That’s when the brain really gets excited. The brain doesn’t just detect new information —it craves novelty. As Judy Willis, MD explains in How Your Child Learns Best, a part of the Learn more: brain called the reticular activating system (RAS) filters incoming stimuli, ➔ Skype in the Classroom deciding which information to trust to autopilot and what deserves our full offers educators a way to add attention. Surprise and novelty are the attention-grabbers. In the classroom, novelty at no cost through this means that changing routines, asking students to consider similarities videoconferencing. Join this global educator community and and differences, field trips, and guest visitors all help to keep learning fresh. connect your students with new In an article for Scholastic, psychiatrist and child trauma expert Bruce faces from around the world: Perry explains why repetitive classroom activities, such as lectures or http://education.skype.com/. worksheets, inhibit the brain’s craving for novelty and can interfere with ➔ Field trips add novelty, but at learning. “Only four to eight minutes of pure factual lecture can be tolerated a cost that many schools can’t before the brain seeks other stimuli, either internal (e.g., daydreaming) or afford. Read this Edutopia article about virtual field trips to find external (Who is that walking down the hall?). If the teacher is not providing out how to expand your students’ that novelty, the brain will go elsewhere,” he writes in “How the Brain Learns world on a budget: http://www. Best.” (For more of his advice for teachers, visit http://teacher.scholastic. edutopia.org/virtual-field-trips. com/professional/bruceperry/.) ➔ Inquiry-based curriculum can Integrating a robust arts program is one way educators can capture also bring new energy to class. student curiosity and keep them engaged. According to a recent landmark Check out the sample assignments report from the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the from Quest to Learn, an innovative New York school that addresses benefits of studying the arts go far beyond enrichment. Reinvesting in Arts serious academic goals through Education—Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools found that a a challenging standards-based high-quality program can improve student engagement, focus attention, curriculum via game building, heighten educational aspirations, and increase intellectual risk taking. scientific experiments, and a Download a copy from http://www.pcah.gov/. myriad of other activities: http:// q2l.org/node/27#curriculum. And planning inquiry-driven projects that connect to students’ interests will boost the engagement factor and cut down on boredom, which is actually a stressor for young brains. Willis explains why in the video interview “Big Thinkers: Judy Willis on the Science of Learning” (http://www.edutopia. org/big-thinkers-judy-willis-neuroscience-learning-video). 9 SIX TIPS FOR BRAIN-BASED LEARNING EDUTOPIA.ORG
- 10. BONUS PROJECT: ➔ Build a Brain Owner’s Manual BRAIN-BASED EDUCATION reinforces the importance of learning activities that are relevant, novel, multisensory, and challenging enough to stretch students’ “thinking muscles.” If you’re a student, what could be more personally relevant than learning about your own brain? By combining project-based learning with neuroscience, you can offer students an opportunity to follow their curiosity and engage their creativity when it comes to understanding the brain. Here’s how to get started. Step Build 1 YOUR UNDERSTANDING Step Craft Before diving into project design, you may want to 2 A COMPELLING build your own background knowledge about how DRIVING QUESTION to integrate brain study across the curriculum. Increasing brain-science literacy is something Plan your project with a driving question that will benefit students of all ages, according to that will set the stage for deep learning. Michaela Labriole, science instructor at New York Crafting the right question for your Hall of Science. In Cerebrum, she makes a strong project will depend on grade level, case for why K-12 teachers should integrate brain- subject area, and important learning related topics in the classroom. Online resources goals. It should be open-ended and classroom activity suggestions help get you enough so that students can’t easily started (http://www.dana.org/news/cerebrum/ Google an answer and sufficiently detail.aspx?id=28896). intriguing to grab their attention. Neurologist and former teacher Judy Willis (Remember: The brain craves novelty.) describes how her elementary and middle school For example: How can we develop a students benefited from studying the brain in an brain owner’s manual? article for Educational Leadership. She explains, Depending on students’ ages and “When I began incorporating basic instruction interests, this open-ended question about the brain into my classes and teaching simple could lead them to investigate sleep activities to improve brain processing, students habits for healthy brains, how athletes not only became more engaged and confident, but can avoid head injuries, strategies to they also began changing their study practices in improve long-term memory, how to ways that paid off in higher achievement.” Read her inspire more creative thinking, how article “How to Teach Students About the Brain” to be smart about taking risks, and a (http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational wide range of other topics. -leadership/dec09/vol67/num04/How-to-Teach- Students-About-the-Brain.aspx). (continued on next page) 10 SIX TIPS FOR BRAIN-BASED LEARNING EDUTOPIA.ORG
- 11. Step 3 Plan ENGAGING ACTIVITIES During the research phase of the project, plan activities that will help students investigate what they need to know. A wide range of resources are available. Here are a few: BrainWorks, a video from the University of Washington, takes students on a journey through the brain. Kids also visit research labs to learn about brain function and brain research (http://www.uwtv.org/video/player. aspx?dwrid=4909). Brainology (http://www.brainology.us/) is an online program designed to help students develop a growth mind-set. It was developed by psychologist Carol Dweck and researcher Lisa Sorich Blackwell. Step 4 Share Teens can take a risk-tolerance quiz from a recent YOUR RESULTS National Geographic article about teenage brains others know about Let (http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/ your project by describing 10/teenagebrains/risk-quiz). (The full article, your results in the Edutopia “Beautiful Brains,” is available at http://ngm.national PBL community: http:// geographic.com/2011/10/teenage-brains/dobbs-text.) www.edutopia.org/ Brainy Kids (http://www.dana.org/resources/brainy groups/project-learning. kids/) is a youth education site about the brain from the Visit Edutopia’s resource Dana Foundation. It includes games, online labs, and roundup of brain-based links to lessons and activities. learning links and share Make a brain cap: University of Texas Health Science your favorite websites Center at San Antonio outlines an activity that engages and tools (http://www. students in modeling their understanding of the brain’s edutopia.org/brain- anatomy (http://teachhealthk-12.uthscsa.edu/ based-learning-research- curriculum/brain/brain01b-BrainCap.asp). roundup). Contribute to science: Students can participate in The Educator’s PLN, Join research by taking part in online experiments at Test a personal learning My Brain (http://www.testmybrain.org/). After they network for educators, take part in experiments such as identifying emotions and take part in active from tone of voice or testing their “gut number sense,” discussions in the Brain students get personalized feedback. Based Teaching group: http://edupln.com/ As a professional development activity, consider exploring group/brainbased the growing literature about brain-based learning with teachingtechniques. colleagues. You might do jigsaw readings of key research or choose a brain-based title for an all-staff book club. The Dana Foundation maintains links to research in neuroeducation (http://dana.org/neuroeducation/). See our suggested reading list at the end of this guide for more ideas. 11 SIX TIPS FOR BRAIN-BASED LEARNING EDUTOPIA.ORG
- 12. ➔ RECOMMENDED READING +++++ How People Learn: Brain, mind, experience, Mind, Brain, and Education: and school: Expanded Edition. Neuroscience implications for the classroom. By J.D. Bransford, A.L. Brown & R.R. Cocking (2000) By D. Sousa (Ed.) (2010) Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. Mindset: The new psychology of success. Differentiation and the Brain: By C. Dweck, (2006) How neuroscience supports the New York, NY: Ballantine Books. learner-friendly classroom. By D. Sousa & C. Tomlinson (2010) Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. The Philosophical Baby: What children’s minds tell us about truth, love, and the meaning of life. By A. Gopnik (2010) Mind, Brain, and Education Science: New York, NY: Picador. A comprehensive guide to the new brain-based teaching. Teaching with Poverty in Mind: By T. Tokuhama-Espinoza (2011) New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co. What being poor does to kids’ brains and what schools can do about it. By E. Jensen (2009) How Your Child Learns Best: Brain-friendly Alexandria, VA: ASCD. strategies you can use to ignite your child's learning and increase school success. Brain Rules: 12 principles for surviving By J. Willis (2008) Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks. and thriving at work, home, and school. By J. Medina Seattle, WA: Pear Press. 12 SIX TIPS FOR BRAIN-BASED LEARNING EDUTOPIA.ORG
- 13. Six Tips for Brain-Based Learning Plus, a bonus class project, resources, and a reading list ++++++ ABOUT EDUTOPIA Edutopia is where The George Lucas Educational Foundation’s vision to highlight what works in education comes to life. We are a nonprofit operating foundation dedicated to improving K-12 learning by documenting, disseminating, and advocating for innovative strategies that prepare students to thrive in their future education, careers, and adult lives. Through our award-winning website, videos, and growing online community, Edutopia is supporting and empowering education reform by shining a spotlight on real-world solutions and providing proven strategies, tools, and resources that are successfully changing how our children learn. To find and share solutions, visit Edutopia.org. SUPPORT EDUTOPIA! WHAT WORKS IN EDUCATION Donate to Edutopia and join with others who care about changing education. Your support will help us continue to do the following: + Identify key attributes of successful learning environments + Bridge the gap between those who are struggling and those who have solutions + Improve online tools and resources for educators to collaborate and share with one another + Highlight districts and schools that have impactful and replicable solutions Please join us in ushering in a new world of learning. To make your tax-deductible donation, go to edutopia.org/support. visit us at edutopia.org 13 2011 The George Lucas Educational Foundation | All rights reserved. © © 2011 The George Lucas Educational Foundation | All rights reserved.